Beautiful People - Aikaterine

"I could not get on without her - or Tabby. I dare say they are my two hands together."

Plenilune, Skander Rime

I had a deuce of a time trying to pick a character to do Beautiful People for this time. I feel I've rather done Margaret in; since she is the main character of Plenilune, naturally she should get the lion's share of the Beautiful People posts. All the same, it gets dull using the same character over and over, so I decided to dig out the incomparable, invisible Aikaterine instead. While Aikaterine is only a maidservant, and a young one at that, she plays a vital role in story: there may be a front seat and a back seat and a window in between, but I dare say those in the back seat wouldn't get very far without the driver in the front. So Aikaterine, while only a maid, is a very important figure in the workings of life in Lookinglass.

Aikaterine

1. What is her favourite type of shoe?

A calfskin boot of fawn-colour brown,
turned over at the top and with a two-inch heel. They are well-padded so as to be comfortable,
as Aikaterine walks miles from the beginning of the day to the end of it,
pretty yet demure, and the heel gives her a mark of class without attempting to
be pretentious, and also a firm grip on a stirrup.

2. Does she journal?

Aikaterine’s
life is too busy to journal; even if she did have the time it would be dull
reading, for her days are fairly similar, and as she is a key figure in her
master’s life she would consider it a breach of faith to write about her master’s
business.

3. What is her favourite animal?

Anything
that does not shed. She is a pretty good
hand with any animal—be it a pet or a meal—but she is not ardently fond of them. She does have a little chestnut palfrey which
Skander Rime gave her especially, but it is not part of her duties to care for
it.

4. What does her average day look like?

Her
morning begins promptly with a bath and cup of tea, after which she goes into
Skander Rime’s study to clear up from the night before. An hour before Skander rises she sets the
kettle on and begins mixing the oatmeal which forms the main dish of his
breakfast. Like clockwork she adds an
egg (over easy) and seasonal fruit to the tea and oatmeal and then goes up with
the breakfast to wake her master. While
he is eating she goes down and has her own breakfast (the "blue-jay man" runs the bath and
lays out Skander’s clothing), and then sets Skander’s coffee on before taking
it through into the study. Unless
Skander is very busy she usually spends the rest of the morning tidying or
cleaning his chambers and overseeing the list for supper. At eleven promptly she makes up Skander’s
lunch and takes it up to him at noon sharp.
If he means to go out she goes up to lay out boots, crop, and cloak
while the blue-jay man tends to the horse. She has
a little time in the afternoon for a sit-down and some reading, and afterwards
spends time running over lists for Skander and writing off messages to friends,
merchants, and those in fief to him. Her
handwriting is, unfortunately for Skander, rather better than his. She makes Skander’s tea with unflagging
punctuality and often takes her own with him while he gives her updates and
bounces ideas off her between bites. Between
tea and supper Aikaterine makes a tour of the whole house, including the
grounds if the weather is fine, and then oversees supper and the preparation of
the dining room. She takes her own
supper in the servants’ hall and then goes up with the blue-jay man to make sure the study
and bedchamber are ready for the evening.
Her last act of the day is to pop in on the pantry and make sure there
is fresh fruit for tomorrow morning.

5. Night owl or morning person? (Optional: What time does she usually wake
up? Go to bed?)

Aikaterine
wakes up every morning at five o’clock sharp and doesn’t lie down again until
9:30 in the evening. She is always on
the go when she is awake, so as soon as she hits the pillow she is out like a
light.

6. Does she have a sweet tooth?

She is
passing fond of bread pudding, which she will eat as often as she can get it;
her high metabolism and active life allow her this indulgence. Otherwise she is content with fruits and
tends to have a very healthy diet.

7. What colours are in her bedroom?

It is
almost embarrassing that Aikaterine’s room at Lookinglass is fancier than the
room Margaret is put up in. But Skander
is very fond of Aikaterine and has a habit of absent-mindedly lavishing her
with this and that fine thing. Aikaterine
has a room on the ground floor in the northeast section of the house near the
Ilex Lawn; it has only one window overlooking the walk, but it is smoothly stuccoed
and panelled in cherry with a fresco-work of wine-country on the far wall. She keeps a cherry four-poster and a matching
set of drawers and an enormous, violently colourful rug on the hardwood floor
which Skander Rime took as spoil from a war with the Carmarthen. The prints on the bedclothes and curtains are
of heavy purple and beige, which draw out the more subtle hues in the carpet
and make it a little less overpowering.

8. Can she cook?

“…But the
meals were nicer, and as for the sweets, I won’t tell you how cheap and good
they were, because it would only make your mouth water in vain.” Aikaterine is an excellent cook; Skander
jokes a little that she uses witchcraft, but her food is generally so good that
he seriously wonders from time to time if there isn’t something unnatural about
it…

9. What is her favourite household chore?

Setting
out her master’s riding things. Nothing
looks so smart to her as to see the two polished boots standing side by side on
the hearth rug with their spurs shining, the long leather crop lying longwise
across the carved arms of his bog-oak chair, and the heavy, weather-stained
folds of his leather doublet hung on the tear-drop corner of the chair’s back.

10. Favourite kind of tea?

When
Aikaterine pulls out the tea-ball she most frequently fills it with a kind of
black chai, which brews strong and is very invigorating. Its lingering scents are always appealing to
anyone who catches them on her, too, which is an added advantage since it is
Aikaterine’s goal to be both invisible and charming to
those “upstairs.”

"Does Tabby not also go? I am my Lord's maid and I go with my Lord. Now stand aside, or I will knock you down!"

"Aikaterine" is simply the Greek form of the name "Katherine," which is a name of which I am fond. So, no great exertions of the mind on that score. I yoinked that name. But I am very glad you like her. I am rather fond of her myself, but, like any good maid, she is rather hard to know.

Charming character, Jenny. I am sure I would find her hauntingly elusive--one of those beautiful household spirits that make a house what it is, and yet shimmer off as soon as you've a mind to catch hold of them. Yes, I like Aikaterine very much indeed. :)

Ye-es. If I'm allowed to say so, I think Aikaterine is pretty awesome myself. I think you've hit it rather soundly, Rachel; though Aikaterine rather takes Margaret under her wing since Rhea (who has the Evil Eye and can curdle the soup in one's belly just at the witching sight of her) is not a very friendly maid toward the poor girl.

What a fascinating glimpse of such a mysterious, gentle, steel-lined character! I think I would like to know her, though that would be something of a lifelong task. "Background" characters have such a presence about them, even when they're not being noticed. Maybe because they're not being noticed.

Don't you? I was trawling through Pinterest today looking at stone staircases, and I saw a lovely one done up in pale flags with a stucco wall, pretty plain, no gilding, but still clearly expensive (it's stone, for crying out loud) and I thought, "Oh, no, pssht, that's just the servants' stair," in the most serious mindset. And then I paused to listen to myself. :P

Not a bother, Joy! I've said silly things myself because I didn't read carefully - and you weren't silly. And anyway, I'm always getting confused by Aikaterine. She's a young girl, quite Margaret's age, if not a little younger, but she is so grown up and responsible that I forget and think she's older. You can be excused with graces - you only just met her. I'm supposed to be writing her!

I really ought to pull together some decent pictures of my current cast. It keeps growing, and it is so hard to find pictures that look just right. I'm so particular about that sort of thing. Blast!